Preface summary:
Li Chang'an followed the guidance of the Little Yellow Book and went all the way east to find the Corpse Buddha. On the way, he happened to meet Yan Xinglie. He was like-minded and helped him recapture the White Lotus Demon Girl. However, he had to use up the Demonic Needle of the Feng Town Demon Girl. Go to Pingye City to replenish supplies at the risk of exposing your whereabouts.
On the other hand, while the Thousand Buddhas Temple ceremony was in full swing, a zombie quietly sneaked into the Demonic Cave and worshiped the Buddha with a human head...
……………………
The sheep with round eyes bent its front legs and kept kowtowing.
Faced with this strange scene, everyone had different reactions.
The mother and son cowered and hid in the back. They had suffered enough from the demons, and they seemed to be fighting against the enemy. And Fu Jiulang, besides being frightened, with his face leaking from the air on his cheeks, was a little eager to give it a try.
As for the White Lotus Saint, the boss on horseback has it in a black bag.
Li Changan rubbed his chin, as if he thought of something. Yan Xinglie stepped forward, grabbed the horn of the sheep with one hand, took out a dagger with the other hand, and placed it on the top door of the strange sheep.
The sheep's body trembled a few times, but it didn't struggle.
The bearded man didn't hesitate when he saw this, he put the tip of the knife diagonally into his scalp, and then slashed all the way along the top of his head, his spine and the root of his tail. When the blade passed by, only the skin was opened, but no flesh was broken, and not even a drop of blood was splashed out.
This is strange.
Li Changan stepped forward and was shocked to see that under the open fur, there was not flesh and blood fascia, but another layer of skin. The skin is smooth and delicate, just like... human skin?
At this moment, Yan Xinglie put away the dagger, grabbed the sheepskin and pulled hard.
Then he saw a naked woman rolling out of the sheepskin!
………………
Today, outside the west gate of Pingye City, it was extremely lively.
The gongs and drums were noisy, and the crowds were loud, blocking the front of the City God's Temple.
It is said that this Pingye City God also has a background. Legend has it that a hundred years ago, there was a powerful man in Pingye who committed evil, which made the people miserable. It happened that there was a scholar in Pingye who had some knowledge of magic. He learned from the ghosts and gods that the Lord Taishan was traveling around the world and had to pass through Pingye City. The scholar stopped him at night and accused him of being a powerful man. Hearing this, the prince was furious and asked the judge to take away the life of this powerful man. But the laws of nature are constant and cannot be tampered with. One life is worth another life, and the scholar died suddenly because of this.
The people of Pingye felt his kindness, made statues of gods, built temples, and promoted him as the City God of Pingye, offering him incense and offerings day and night.
But that was decades ago.
In recent years, the world has been deteriorating, and people's livelihood has become a problem. How can they have the spare capacity to worship the City God? In addition, in recent years, most people in Pingye have converted to a Buddha called Baiyang Buddha, and the City God's Temple has become even more dilapidated. .
But now I look at this century-old temple. The beams and columns have been replaced, red paint has been painted, and the bricks and tiles have been renovated. Even the doors, windows, and eaves have been hung with red silk ribbons, swaying in the wind, so grand.
It's a pity that the temple owners, namely the City God and the City God's mother-in-law, were respectfully invited out of the temple. A bare-breasted Buddha majestically occupies the central hall.
After a while, there was a "cracking" sound of firecrackers.
The new host is about to attract several "good people" who have contributed money to the show.
There was some commotion in the crowd.
It turned out to be a lame beggar, knocking on a broken bowl and singing a tune.
"It's a strange world, it's a strange world, officials become bandits, bandits sit in court, monks occupy the City God's Temple..."
As soon as he didn't play the song, he was surrounded by several fat and strong "faithful believers" who gave him a good beating.
During this chaotic moment, the old man took the opportunity to squeeze through the crowd, then turned around and pulled out a few fat sheep from the crowd. Both the man and the sheep were covered with grass leaves and morning dew. They had come all the way early in the morning, but they didn't want to be blocked outside the city gate by worshipers worshiping Buddha, so they escaped now.
He counted the number with his fingers and hurried into the city gate.
At this time, a little kid pointed at the old man’s sheep and said:
"Auntie, why are the sheep's pupils round?"
"What are you talking about? Where are the round eyes of this sheep?"
The baby's mother glanced at it without taking a closer look, and just held the child. On this great day when Baiyang Buddha moves into his new house, how can he say such nonsense? He quickly says "Amitabha" several times. But they didn't see it. The shepherd turned around frequently, as if he had memorized the two women's figures well, and then he drove the sheep into the city gate.
After entering the city gate, the old man walked along the base of the wall, deliberately picking up the remote terrain, passing through an abandoned alley where rats, sparrows and basil lived, and finally arrived at an old and lonely courtyard, with a white plaque hanging on the gate - —Jingshen Village.
There is a saying in this world that statues of gods and Buddhas should not be abandoned suddenly, otherwise they will turn into monsters and harm others. Therefore, wherever there is spare capacity, a "god worship village" will be set up to house abandoned statues of gods. This remote courtyard is exactly such a place. Because of its remote location and because it was unlucky that few people came there, it became this old man's den.
"Stab it."
He opened the door, and what he saw was a large courtyard overgrown with weeds and three shabby houses. In the courtyard were lame people, broken arms, blind eyes, one ears, faded paint... various gods and Buddhas. Sitting or standing, looking up or bending down, they fell into the vines and grass. A gust of wind squeezed in through the crack in the door, carrying a few wisps of residual fragrance and floating upward accompanied by midges.
The old man muttered a few words, but he was still not used to this courtyard. No matter how many times he had been here, he always felt that these statues were like lonely ghosts, treating living people indifferently.
He spat, locked the door bolt, and led the sheep into the courtyard.
"Xixixisuosuo" passed for a while.
There were fewer sheep and more people in the yard.
……………………
In this river and lake, although human traffickers are the lowest of the nine, the most shady existence, there are still ways among them. This line of work is commonly known as "Daxuba", and the area south of the Yangtze River is called "Chaxu". There is a trick circulated in the industry called "Animal Making", which involves using secret methods to make animal fur, and then wrapping a living person in the fur to turn the person into an animal. Once this technique is performed, if the fur is not removed for a long time, the person inside the skin will completely turn into an animal. When it is introduced, even if the skin is peeled, the meat is chopped, and the meat is put into the pot, the shape and taste remain unchanged.
The old man could only get the fur, and the sheepskin in his hand could not even change the eyes of a human being. If time passed, let alone completely transform into a sheep, he would have to return his human body first, and then burst the sheepskin. .
He peeled off the skins one by one, but he saw that the yard was full of naked but pretty young women, but their expressions were dull, their eyes were dull, and there was still saliva in their mouths. They were kicked and dragged by the old man. Tucked into the side compartment.
Then fold the leather carefully one by one.
at this time.
There was a burst of noise outside the door, followed by "dong dong dong" knocking on the door quickly and urgently.
The old man's expression tightened, and he hid the leather in his hand in the corner, then stepped forward and pressed against the door, put one hand in his arms, straightened his voice, and spoke in a nonchalant tone.
"Who's calling the door?"
Someone immediately answered outside the door:
"Is uncle back? I'm Wang Cheng."
The old man looked calmer, unlatched the door, opened the door, and saw several young men outside carrying the statue of the god, all of them sweating profusely from exhaustion.
When the door opened, they rushed in.
………………
The new person entering this gate is the City God of Pingye.
It is shaped like a middle-aged official. The paint is often faded, but the whole body is still clean and there is not much dust.
The man who called himself Wang Cheng was a sturdy man with narrow eyes. He ordered a few young men to place the City God in the corner, then gave a few copper coins to send the idlers away, and then went to the door again.
The old man sat in front of the door and folded the sheepskins by himself, while Wang Cheng began to burn incense on the statues one by one. There are many statues of gods in the courtyard. The old man's sheepskins have been folded, but Wang Cheng's incense has not yet been finished. He stared coldly for a while and then said:
"If these gods and Buddhas have spirits, they must first deal with you and me; if they don't, why do you worship them?"
Wang Cheng still respectfully laid the incense and knelt before him.
"May I have peace of mind?"
The old man chuckled and happened to see Wang Cheng offering incense to the newly arrived City God. He wondered how they were an in-laws when they were in the City God's Temple, but how could the City God be alone here.
"It was carried back again."
Wang Cheng gave the answer without looking back.
"The presiding monk said that the temple was lonely, so he asked the City God to stay with Baiyang Buddha."
The old man was dumbfounded by this answer. He shook his head and said "tsk tsk" for a long time, until Wang Cheng finished laying the incense, sat down in front of him, and asked:
"This time it's one day later than expected?"
The old man said several times that he was unlucky, and told him everything about Fu Jiulang's entanglement until he went down the mountain overnight this morning.
Wang Cheng frowned and seemed to chew on the old man's words several times before speaking again.
"Is the 'goods' this time still complete?"
"One was left behind..." the old man asked tentatively, "Should we abandon this yard?"
"That Fu Jiulang is a ranger from Sakon, so there's nothing to worry about. But it's the Taoist priest you mentioned and the man in black who followed him..."
Wang Cheng thought for a while.
"I heard that the White Lotus Sect recently offered a reward to search for someone. From your description, it seems quite similar. It seems to be called Yan..."
"Yan Xinglie."
"That's right, it's Yan Xinglie."
Wang Cheng clapped his hands and smiled, but suddenly stared at the one eye. The voice that reminded him did not belong to the old man next to him. Suddenly, he jumped up like a wild cat with exploded hair, turned around and pulled out a short knife from the corner, and then looked in the direction of the source of the sound.
But I saw a short-haired Taoist squatting on the wall. Beside the Taoist, a young man with dog skin plaster on his cheeks was trying to keep his balance unsteadily.
"Why did my father-in-law leave without saying goodbye?"
The Taoist priest smiled and spoke while jumping into the courtyard. Then Shi Shiran moved a few steps and vaguely blocked the direction of the door.
When the old man saw it was Li Changan, he was a little startled but quickly calmed down. He winked at the squinty-eyed man and turned around with a smile on his face. He followed Li Changan's words and asked what was wrong.
"It's just the old man's fault. He's only in a hurry..."
He took a few steps forward to greet Wang Cheng, then turned back to greet Wang Cheng.
"Ah Cheng, why did you bring the knife? Put it down! Put it down! This Taoist priest is not a bad person...do it!"
The old man smiled and took a few steps closer, but his face suddenly changed. However, the target of his attack was not the Taoist priest, but Fu Jiulang, who had just jumped into the courtyard and was not yet stable. And Wang Cheng followed closely behind, holding the short sword without making a move, and just stood between the Taoist priest and Fu Jiulang.
Fu Jiulang just stood firm and looked at this scene. He didn't know that he was being treated as a soft persimmon by the other party. Immediately he became furious, and without using the new blade on his waist, he took advantage of his height and long arms, and spread his arms to grab the old man's neck.
Unexpectedly, the old man didn't dodge, he just shrunk his thin body, covered his head and ran into Fu Jiulang's arms. Fu Jiulang smiled and turned to grab him, but he didn't look at it. The old man's hand quietly reached into his arms.
"Watch out!"
Fu Jiulang heard a reminder in his ears, and a bright silver light burst out from his arms.
At the critical moment, he felt a tightening in his neck, and was actually dragged back two steps.
After being in a trance, he took a closer look and saw that the silver light in the old man's hand was a fish skin dagger. The sharp edge was sharply sharpened, which made his internal organs feel cold.
If the Taoist priest hadn't been one step ahead, he would have been tricked by the old man and disemboweled him on the spot.
"Old thief..."
Fu Jiulang was so ashamed and angry that he gritted his teeth and pulled out the sword from his waist, trying to get back to his place.
Who would have guessed.
The old man glanced at Wang Cheng, who was still curled up on the ground and rolling his eyes, and then looked at the Taoist priest's long sword that had never been unsheathed. He simply threw the dagger to the ground and captured him without a fight.
………………
Fu Jiulang was filled with anger in his chest.
He glanced at the two traffickers who were tied up, and his upper and lower molars were grinding together. But he usually prides himself on being upright and aboveboard, disdainful of humiliating those who cannot resist, so now he can only vent his anger on himself.
Li Changan checked the abducted woman in the side room, and when he came out, he saw Fu Jiulang walking around in the yard like a stray dog, looking at anything he didn't like, and cursing.
"Ha, this kidnapper who deserves to be killed by a thousand swords is quite diligent in worshiping Buddha..." As he said that, he picked up a stick of incense and sneered, "It's a compliment to you. I was fooling you with some tasteless bad incense."
When Fu Jiulang mentioned this, Li Changan noticed that despite the green smoke curling up all over the yard, there was no scent at all.
"What you said is wrong."
The old man covered his head and said nothing. The guard with narrow eyes heard that someone doubted his "piety", but he was not convinced.
"Every stall is in the same stall. Although I am engaged in an unscrupulous business, I am always unambiguous about worshiping Buddha and worshiping gods. In Pingye City, every household worships Buddha and burns incense. If you go out and ask, who doesn't know this? Such unscented incense is the finest Dharma incense used to honor Baiyang Buddha."
After saying that, he glanced at Fu Jiulang with his remaining eye.
"Thankfully, Fu Jiu is still from Pingye..."
"This is so disgusting..."
Fu Jiulang immediately made fun of him, but he couldn't hold back his anger and wanted to fix him, but Li Changan reached out to stop him.
The Taoist priest leaned over the sacred Buddha whose arm he didn't know and picked up a stick of Buddhist incense.
Judging from the craftsmanship alone, it is as the warden Mingmu said, it is a well-made and good fragrance, but it has no smell... Li Changan's expression moved, he flipped his wrist, and a Dragon Jade Talisman ignited at his fingertips, and then his nose After taking a sniff, the color changed.
The Taoist priest asked in a deep voice: "Do you think everyone in Pingye County loves Buddha?"
Before Wang Cheng could answer, Fu Jiulang shouted and cut off the conversation.
"Where is the Buddha who would steal other gods to be his wife? I think they are all obscene sacrifices to fake Buddhas!" Fu Jiulang spat, but changed the topic, "But it is true that every family worships Buddha and burns incense in every household. Many elders in my family also Worship the Baiyang Buddha."
After that, perhaps to prove that he was from Pingye, he told a rumor.
"I heard that there are some idiots who came to Pingye to avoid the war. Just because they believed in the Buddha, they would rather have their wives and children starve to death, and exchange their last possessions for incense and candles to pray to the Buddha to seek some kind of White Sun Pure Land."
So ridiculous? Li Changan frowned.
"In this case, the government has never controlled it?"
"Control?" Fu Jiulang sneered, "This Baiyang Sect was brought in under the leadership of several officials."
The Taoist priest nodded, thoughtfully.
………………
A few hours later, in a secluded courtyard.
"This is Chengliang, my former military commander, and the chief officer of Pingye Town Fusi."
As agreed, Li Changan and Yan Xinglie met and were mysteriously taken to a secluded courtyard by the bearded man, where a man in official uniform was waiting. The man's demeanor and movements are quite similar to Yan Xinglie's, with some traces of the military in his demeanor, but he is a little fatter.
"This is Taoist Priest Xuanxiao. We were able to reach Pingye safely this time only because of Taoist Priest's help."
"where……"
Li Changan was about to say a few words of courtesy, but unexpectedly, the man bowed down like he was pushing a mountain of gold toppling a jade pillar, and the Taoist priest quickly supported him.
"What is this doing?"
"Others don't know about the dangers involved in Si Zhong's mission. Doesn't Cheng know that if the Taoist priest hadn't helped him out of righteousness, the general would have..."
Without saying the rest of the words, he was pulled up from the ground by the bearded man.
"The favors owed by Yan are free to be repaid by Yan. Why do I need you to pay my respects?"
With that said, the bearded man patted Cheng Liang's shoulder again and said with a smile.
"I've said it many times, don't call me 'general'. You and I are no longer in the army. I am no longer the former captain of Zhechong, and you are no longer the general of the central army. You and I regard each other as brothers. Proportionately."
After finishing speaking, without waiting for the man to speak, he turned to Li Changan and said in a deep voice:
"The plan has changed, I'm afraid I will be delayed for a day in Pingye."
…
"Pingye doesn't have a magic needle either?!"
This result was unexpected. According to Cheng Liang's explanation, although the Demon Crossing Needles were not very rare, they could only have one or two prepared when they were distributed to various guard offices across the country. Unfortunately, the Pingye Zhenfu Division killed a powerful demon a few days ago and spent a lot of talismans and magic weapons, including the demon-transmitting needle at the bottom of the box.
"So, if you want to cross the Demonic Needle, you have to go to another guardhouse?"
"It doesn't have to be this way."
Cheng Liang explained:
"The depletion of supplies has been reported a long time ago. New talismans and magic weapons will be added to the treasury in the near future, but it will take some time."
"how long?"
"As informed by the official document above, it will be delivered tomorrow."
………………
I recounted some old stories and some new experiences.
Firstly, Cheng Liang had some official affairs to deal with, and secondly, the Taoist priests also had to make some repairs. He said goodbye and left, walked out of the yard, turned a few corners, and suddenly stopped.
"how?"
An urgent voice cut in from the side. A bald man seemed to have been waiting here for a long time. The fat man with big ears was the presiding monk who occupied the City God's Temple this morning.
"Quiet!"
Cheng Liang made a silent gesture and pulled the presiding monk into the uninhabited narrow alley next to him.
"That's right."
He opened his mouth, but there was no trace of his previous boldness, and his face was full of gloom.
"Inform the young master that the saint is in Pingye."
